Staff Computer Vision Engineer - Perception

Avionics & Drone Mechanical Engineer @ SE3 Labs; München; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Real Ownership

Modern toolset

AI-boosted workplace

31 Paid Days Off

Well-being Access

Team Offsites

Mentorship

Job summary

SE3 Labs is seeking a Staff Computer Vision Engineer - Perception to lead and implement the perception stack for unmanned systems. You will own architecture decisions, implement detection, tracking, segmentation and depth estimation, and drive real-world deployments from data to field trials.

You will work with founders and autonomy engineers to shape the roadmap, mentor engineers, and maintain a strong codebase while delivering robust perception solutions in defense-relevant projects.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. with 3+ years or M.Sc. with 6+ years in Computer Vision, Robotics, CS, Electrical Engineering or related field.

Responsibilities

• Architect perception stack; drive core algorithmic decisions with team lead.

Skills

Computer vision

Robotics

Deep learning

Perception systems

Code reviews

Education

Ph.D. in related field

Master of Science in related field

Tools

Jetson

Job description

Join SE3 Labs as Staff Computer Vision Engineer - Perception

Take on SE3's hardest perception problems as a hands-on technical leader, and ship systems that work on real missions.

About SE3

SE3 Labs builds spatial intelligence and autonomy software for unmanned systems. We combine 3D computer vision, state estimation and AI to help autonomous platforms perceive their surroundings, know where they are and operate when GPS and other sensors become unreliable. Defence is a core application of our work today.

We are growing to a team of 100+ people. Join at a stage where you can shape our Perception team, help build the team and grow your responsibilities as the company expands.

Our founding team's research has received more than 90,000 citations. You will work closely with technical founders and engineers with deep experience in computer vision and autonomous systems, turning that research depth into systems that work in the field.

About the Role

As Staff Computer Vision Engineer - Perception, you'll set technical direction for SE3's perception stack across object detection, tracking, semantic segmentation and depth estimation, and spend around 80% of your time building it yourself. You'll work closely with our perception lead, founders and autonomy engineers, shaping architecture and core algorithmic decisions without people-management responsibility. Your work moves from recorded data to field trials and determines how well our platforms understand their surroundings.

What You'll Work On

• Architecture & Algorithms: Shape the architecture of the perception stack and drive core algorithmic decisions together with the team lead.

• Detection & Tracking: Build object detection and multi-object tracking that stay reliable on real mission data.

• Segmentation & Depth: Develop semantic segmentation and depth estimation that give downstream autonomy a dependable picture of the scene.

• Evaluation & Replay: Design the evaluation and replay loop so the team iterates mostly on recorded data, with clear metrics, benchmark datasets and regression tests.

• Real-World Deployment: Optimize models for onboard compute and take them through field trials until they work under real operating conditions.

• Technical Roadmap: Contribute to the perception roadmap by identifying the problems that matter most for field performance.

• Technical Leadership: Raise the engineering bar through design and code reviews, and mentor engineers by example.

Your Profile

• You take ownership of hard problems and want to solve them hands-on, spending most of your time designing, coding and testing.

• You hold a Ph.D. with 3+ years of industry experience, or an M.Sc. with 6+ years, in Computer Vision, Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or a related field.

• You have a proven record of building perception systems that shipped and worked in the real world, in robotics, autonomous driving, AR/VR, drones or adjacent domains.

• You bring deep expertise across modern perception, including object detection, tracking, segmentation and depth estimation, and you base design decisions on evaluation data.

• You lead through technical influence, setting direction, reviewing designs and helping others grow, without needing a management role.

• You speak fluent English; German is a plus. Given the nature of SE3's work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to work on defence-related projects and, where required, obtain the relevant security clearance.

Especially Valued Bonus Skills

• Publications at CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS or similar venues.

• Contributions to well-used open-source computer vision or robotics projects.

• Academic research or teaching experience alongside industry work.

• Deploying models on real-time, resource-constrained compute such as Jetson-class platforms.

• Field experience with UAVs or other robots that get tested outside the lab.

Perks & Benefits

• Real Ownership: Participate in SE3's growth through our employee participation programme

• Work Environment to Excel at: Find a high-quality and modern toolset, flat hierarchy and a skilled, driven team which will push the limits together with you

• AI-boosted workplace: We empower every employee with best-in-class AI tools and agents, giving you unlimited access to the latest advancements and a true productivity edge

• 31 Paid Days Off: 30 vacation days plus your birthday off

• Well-being Access: Free membership to gyms, yoga, and wellness through EGYM Wellpass

• Team Offsites: We go on 2 company retreats per year, our last ones were in Italy and Greece

• Mentorship: Work closely with experienced engineers and get paired with a professional mentor to support your growth

Our Process

1. Intro Call (30 min): Let's get to know each other

2. Coding / Algorithm Interview: (90 min): We work through a practical perception, estimation, or robotics software problem together

3. Technical Interview (1 hr): We dive into perception systems you have built and shipped, the hardest technical decisions you have made and how you raise the bar for a team.

4. Team Dinner / Lunch: Meet the team and see whether it is a strong fit on both sides.